Happy New Year's Eve!

Hello everyone! Right now I'm enjoying some off time in Florida. Its nice here and been extremely relaxing. I've been getting lots of sleep but I think it's mostly because I've been fairly sick.

I'm missing my farm, but know soon enough that I'll be diving back into it wishing I had time to myself again. I am missing my morning walk to check on the animals as the sun comes up.  Soon enough!

New Years has always been my favorite holiday. There's something so refreshing, light, a new energy with people's excitement of starting new in the coming year.  Obvious I know, but it's what I like about it.  I hope people know though, that they can pick any day to make a fresh start, and it doesn't always have to be January 1st.

Like most people, I have an idea of what I'd like to focus on in 2013.  The most obvious having work be a little more controlled. Yes it's farming and things come up.  But I felt like I couldn't get ahead.  Time management will be key! And going home at a reasonable hour,  and making sure I get my two days off a week until Spring.  It was getting ridiculous!

And the same as everyone else - exercise, staying in better touch with people especially my family.  Practicing meditation, and making a home in NY.  These are all things that I know I did when I made the decision to move from MA and leave a whole life behind.  2012 was a year for finding self worth and self esteem. 2013 is too continue my practice of self worth and self esteem, and too also fine balance.

Here's our Christmas baby!  Happy New Year Everyone!!

Vacation

I'm officially on vacation.  Woo woo!  I actually started on Wednesday, with a frantic adventure of changing my flight, driving in the snow storm to NJ, barely making my flight, and landing in Georgia Wednesday night.  It gave me a whole extra day with my sister!

And though I'm away from work, I can't seem to really let go of it.  But it's fine.  I am A-OK managing from a distance, because I get to sleep in (sort of...) and just do what I want.  It's great!  And today we are heading to warm Florida! Woo woo! 70 degrees and sun!  Tomorrow they are calling for rain, but I'll survive.

Christmas was wonderful.  My mom and Dad came down to spend Christmas with me, it was the best present ever.  

Nothing to exciting to report in this blog, except that I'm on VACATIONNNN!!!
 

Merry Christmas Eve! (and Moi Cuisine Numero quatro)

Merry Christmas Eve Everyone!

I'm having a wonderful evening.  I got out of work early today, I had a great workout, laundry was completed (for the most part) and my parents are coming tomorrow for Christmas.  I'm really excited.  

Tonight I cooked up some pasta with Alfredo sauce, roasted broccoli with Parmesan cheese, and venison baked in the oven.  I'm so proud of this meal!  Delicious.  I may have ate all the venison steak...

During my evening, I've had a lot of time to think.  I am alone on Christmas Eve, but I'm not lonely.  It feels good!  Exactly one year ago, I was feeling pretty miserable.  On this Christmas Eve, I'm feeling pretty happy.  I went through a lot last year with boys and work.  And it makes me excited for the next year - what's going to come!?  I know it's not New Years, but it's as good as time as any to reflect.  

Here's my dinner tonight!  Yum!!

Amazing Articllllleeeeeee

Just browsing through NPR and came across this sweet article!  I need to get some salt blocks... And I could get some extra cash :) 

The Joy Of Salt Licking: Contest Turns Farm Animals Into Fine Artists

by Taki Telonidis

 Whit Deschner stands in the middle of a pasture outside of Baker, Ore., probably 30 or 40 feet away from a black cow licking a white salt block.

To most of us, this may look like a bucolic scene from ranch country, a smattering of black cattle on a vast field that spreads toward distant mountains. But, for Deshner, it's art in the making.

Deschner is probably the world's foremost connoisseur of salt block art. These sculptures start out as 50-pound cubes of salt, about a foot long on each side. Ranchers give them to their livestock as nutritional supplements. Six years ago, Deschner was visiting a buddy who had put a block out in front of his cabin. It caught their eye.

"We'd had a couple of beers, and it just started looking more and more like art to us," Deschner says. "Could be outside a federal building."

What the deer left behind looked like a swirling sculpture of grooves, pinnacles and even a small porthole. To Deschner, there was only one thing to do.

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"Why not have a salt lick art contest?" he says.

Licking For A Cause
"Oh, we all thought he was crazy," says Martin Aritola of Oregon Trail Livestock Supply, "but it turns out we were the crazy ones." Aritola's is one of many businesses who were dubious at first, but now support the Great Salt Lick Contest.

It's just a couple days before this year's event, and this is one of several locations where ranchers are dropping off sculptures for the contest.

Kim Jacobs has just come off the range with two sculptures to enter in the contest. Her licks join about 20 others on a long table in the center of the store, each with paperwork that includes the title and species of artist. Some animals lick sculptures that look like vertebrae from prehistoric creatures, others like windswept sandstone formations you might see in canyon country.

"I think my cows do an OK job, but I really feel my sheep have brought it home for me," Jacobs says.

Despite all the tongue-in-cheek humor, there is a serious side to the Great Salt Lick: It's an auction and fundraiser to support Parkinson's disease research. Deschner himself has Parkinson's. He walks with a stoop and trembles. He says living with the disease has taught him that "you have to follow your folly."

"To tie the Parkinson's into the salt licks, into the auction, maybe was a foolish idea. But what the heck," he says.

And over the years, Deschner's folly has raised more than $30,000.

Bringing Community Together
Putting on the Great Salt Lick is a community effort, and on the night of the auction, the mayor and his band kick things off with some cowboy tunes. It's not long before the hall is packed with the most unusual collection of people.

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"Cowboys with cow manure clear to their knees and beat-up old hats, and wine sippin' hippies, and some of the more elite, high-dollar people around town, you know," says Mib Daley, a local rancher, and the official auctioneer for the Great Salt Lick. "They don't normally get along that well, you know. And when they get in a situation like this with the salt lick auction, they just all get along. It's weird!"

One by one, the salt licks are brought to the stage and Daley takes off with the bidding. Blocks sell for about $5 at the feed store, but here most sell for $200 or $300. And a few of the more unusual pieces hit $1,000.

In the end, the auction raises well over $12,000, shattering last year's record. Everybody leaves the hall with smiles on their faces, including Beth and Fred Phillips, who raise Angus cattle and entered four salt licks in the contest.

"We'd like to think our cows are more artistic than they used to be, but, to be honest, they probably aren't," Beth says.

"They're definitely more artistic than our neighbors,' " Fred says.

So how do they nurture their artists?

"We breed for it now," Fred says.

 

Success

I think I'm just going to work weekends all the time, and not work during the week.  I can't believe how much work we got done today, and how much better I felt.  Granted, it seems like I always could have done more at work - I still have to get a grip on the reality of farming and how much time things actually take in the day.  

But today we moved 70 sheep to better shelter, created a space for the other 22 ewes undercover, bred a cow, got the cows acquainted to the squeeze chute (because they HATE it), researched about mites and lice in chickens, and did some treatment for mites/lice in the chicken coop.  Personally, I organized Christmas presents (which are definitely very late right now), cooked a nice dinner, and worked out.  Awesomely, successful day.

We also came in this morning to a beautiful calf that was born last night.  I've been waiting for this cow (Devon 71) to calve all week.  Actually for a month - she was so big we couldn't get her through the squeeze chute last month (unsqueezed)!  She's gorgeous.  And I am so happy she was born in the warmth of the barn.

TGIF

How Am I Trusting?

This week I'm trusting that I can get through this pile of work I'm in.  I'm not saying I'm drowning, but I have ssooo much work to try to get through.  And this past week I haven't really been able to get through it very well.  But I think the next couple days I'll be able to grasp something.  All my bosses are gone, and it's only Chatty and Peru.  So, I trust that I'll be able to get through it, especially before I go away on Thursday.

How Am I Grateful?

I am grateful for my cat.  He has spent his first week at the apartment and has adjusted amazingly well.  It's nice to have someone else around the house.  I know, he's just a cat.  But it's great.

How Am I Inspired?

I am inspired by the work that I do.  I know I have a ton of it, and every day something else gets added to the list.  I'm just learning so much and there's so much more to learn.  Not only with farming practices, but just management practices - creating systems, dealing with people.  This week I feel like it's going to take a long, long time.  And this week I wonder if I can do it.  My motivation is inspiring to me.  

 How Am I Practicing Faith?

How am I practicing my faith this week?  This week has been a little rough.  And for the first time being here I felt pretty stressed for most of it.  It wasn't the type of stress I felt back in MA - I'm not holding it in my stomach, I'm letting it go when I get home at night.  I  suppose that's how I'm practicing.  Letting go.

A Little Lonely

I'm feeling a little lonely tonight.  Probably because my sista from another mista, the Monster Librarian, is going back to our old farm.  I miss Monster Librarian so very much we haven't seen each other since last June.  bbbooooo.

It's also Christmas time and everyone at work is going away.  I always work Christmas, and I kind of forget every year that I tend to feel a little lonely when I decide to be nice to everyone else and work over Christmas.  But my parents are coming down Christmas day and the day after, so I won't be alone!  (If the weather holds out.  PLEASE weather, HOLD OUT.)

Work is busy, managing people is difficult, and I'm so freakin' excited to leave next Thursday and spend a week with my sister!  We are going to Florida for New Years.  It can't get here fast enough.

 

Bravo!

A nice weekend back in MA brought some closure and comfort.  It's funny how one 10 minute conversation can really change how you feel.  It wasn't an intentional one - it was one that was being avoided.  But it was a necessary one and now I feel great.  

AND, guess who came home with me!  

That's right!  Bravo! (You may have gotten that idea from the title of the post too...)  This cat is so wonderful.  He can adjust to ANYTHING you throw at him.  He barely batted an eyelash.  The car ride down was a little funny.  I gave him some drugs to make him sleep.  Totally didn't work.  But his meowing for 2.5 hours was wonderful.  Really!  I hadn't heard it in so long, I was just so happy to have my cat.  (PS: technically I haven't moved yet...ssshhh)

It is a little weird, adjusting to another presence around.  I know, he's just a cat.  But he's definitely a presences, and I love it.

$85 Six Pack Anyone?

From Belgium To Piggly Wiggly: U.S. Beer Fans Snatch Up Elusive Ale

by Bill Chappell

December 12, 2012 5:53 PM

 

To many beer fans, the arrival of the Westvleteren 12 Trappist ale in American shops today is a chance to try a beer they've only read about on beer-geek blogs and sites — where it's often given a "world class" rating of 100.

But finding the beer can be tricky — it's not available in all states, and some stores sold out of their allotment within hours of opening Wednesday.

As NPR's Teri Schultz reported on Morning Edition today, the beer is being imported by Massachusetts-based Shelton Brothers. And although a relatively large shipment hit U.S. shores, the beer made by Belgium's St. Sixtus Abbey is still not widely available.

Only 15,000 six-packs, priced at $85 each, were sent to the American market. To help would-be customers find out where to buy the beer, the distributor has listed all U.S. retail outlets online. And despite a price that seems stratospheric, the cost is well below what the special release's "brick" gift pack of six beers and two glasses is fetching on eBay, where bids routinely top $200.

A Shelton Brothers representative told Schultz that the company was chosen to handle the U.S. release based on its previous work with another small Trappist brewer, Achel. Consider that Belgian breweries such as Chimay produce about 40 times the amount of beer that Achel or Westvleteren make in a normal year.
And the monks of the St. Sixtus Abbey, whose order requires vows of poverty, set restrictions to make this release very unusual.

For instance, stores have been asked not to reserve the beer or accept orders by phone, and customers are to be limited to a sole six-pack — policies that were in place in at least two beer stores The Salt visited early Wednesday.

The abbey's goal seems to have been to release the beer in a way that offers beer fans a chance to buy Westvleteren — and to limit the secondary market for the beer. The monks have stressed that the special release is meant only to pay for their abbey's recent renovations.

"There also isn't much profit involved here," Shelton Brothers said in a statement posted online, "as most everybody working on this has agreed to either donate back or forgo profits to help maximize the money going to the Abbey. No store that gets this beer is cashing in on it; at least we hope they aren't."

Bolstering that idea, both the bottles and the goblet-shaped glasses that come in the U.S. six-packs of Westvleteren 12 bear a gilded message in Latin: "Ad aedificandam abbatiam adiuvi" — roughly, "I helped to build the abbey."

The approach to the one-time U.S. release echoes the abbey's rules in Belgium, where customers can only use the same phone to place a beer order once in a set period (often, 60 days). When they pick the beer up, they must be in a car that hasn't been used to pick up beer in the same time frame.

To control distribution in the U.S., the Westvleteren beer is being made available mostly through large retail chains to guarantee a single price — shops in Hawaii reportedly received a special dispensation for a higher price to allow for the recovery of shipping charges.

Despite the hefty price tag, demand for the beer seems to be strong. The Total Wine shop in Laurel, Md., sold out of the beers "nearly in the first hour," said a manager. He added that some customers had camped out at the store's strip-mall location ahead of its 8 a.m. opening time. And in Chicago, customers reportedly got in line at 4 a.m.

Still, not everyone is enthusiastic about the new Trappist on the block. Some folks seem to miss the veil of exclusivity that had separated beer connoisseurs from mere dilettantes. And the abbey's requirement of a single sales price means that most of the rare ale went to mainstream retailers, rather than the more fractured market of boutique and specialty stores.

For instance, on Twitter, Bruisin' Ales cited "More Westy nonsense... in Alabama, Westvleteren is being sold by PIGGLY WIGGLY. Good lord. This beer belongs in specialty shops. Period."

Others, including several who commented on Schultz's story this morning, are outraged by the $85 sales price. They say that just because the monks took a vow of poverty, that doesn't mean the rest of us should join them, after buying their beer. Save your money, they say, and grab the venerable Abt 12 made by St. Bernardus.

There are also some beer fanatics who are eager to buy the Westvleteren 12, but they can't find it anywhere near them. Texas, for instance, isn't included in the release, reportedly owing to its laws governing beer imports. For anyone in that situation, the Beer Advocate site has a list of possible substitutes, in its ratings of top quadrupel beers.

 

Lady Time

It's lady time for our little Dorper ram.  We put a marker on him and set him free among 70 ewes.  It's his first time, but he seems to be catching on well ;)

The ladies were so excited!  Here they are, surrounding the ram.  I hope they aren't too intimidating...

 There he is with his little black face!

Good luck little ram!  Hopefully we'll see lots of black faced babies in May! 

TGIF

Another nutty week.  And the end doesn't really seem in sight unfortunately...
 
How Am I Trusting?

I am trusting exercise this week.  I haven't been great at doing it for the past week, but today I left work pretty stressed, and I knew the only thing I could do was go home and work out.  I was suppose to start Phase 2 of P90X yesterday but was away for work.  I was pumped to come home and jump into it because I knew it was the only thing that would make me feel relaxed.

How Am I Grateful?

I am so grateful for my health.  I love being fit, and I love being able to exercise to relieve stress.  Exercise is more than just being fit to me, it's a form of meditation, and I'm so grateful for that.

How Am I Inspired?

I'm inspired by Hawthorne Valley.  I just spent the last 2 days there and it was wonderful.  I went up there with Boss and French (because he's from France.  I need to get better with these nick names) to talk about setting up a dairy.  1) I love dairy cows and 2) it's amazing up there.  Part of me just wants to leave here and start working there!  If I was a newby in the field, I'd totally apprentice there.  But alas, I am not, but I'm so inspired by what they do, and who I get to work with from there.

How Am I Practicing My Faith

It looks like I lost another weekend.  But the last two weekends I've had to work have been literally out of my control.  I was the only one who could breed cows last week, and this week Lakes is deathly ill from a scary stomach bug that's going around.  It's annoying, I do want a break, but getting stressed about is just going to make it worse.  So faith is running pretty high right now.

Baby (2)!

The dairy farmer a couple towns over finally had a couple bull calves this weekend.  So I went on over and picked up a Jersey/Holstein cross.  What a cutie!  He's pretty spunky.  Both the farmer and his wife were so sweet.  The farmer had a great way to get the cow to get attached to the calf.  Usually it's a bit of a fight, but he said to put milk replacer (what usual dairies feed their calves because they take them away from their mother) on his back.  She'll smell it and want to lick it because it smells so sweet.  And it does!  It smells like cake batter.  I went a head and did that, but with Gert I don't think it made that much of a difference.  Her calf though (who we desperately need to name!) was just staring at the new calf.  It reminded me of a picture of my brother and two nephews, when Little E was born.  My bro was in the middle, holding the newborn Little E in one arm and Little G in the other.  Little G had this look on his face, "What the F&!% is that!?"

They have adjusted well, and I got the new calf to nurse off Gert today.  It took a little bit, but he caught on.  He's so sweet, I have to think of a good name for him.

                                 












 Milk Replacer Baby!!

 This is my, "What the F&%$!" Picture

Ma Cusine Numéro Trois

I don't have pictures of this yet, because I can't get a good one.  But this weekend I made Spiced Lentil Tacos.  Delicious!

It's super easy to make - cut up some onion and garlic and saute it, add the lentils (after a good washing) with the taco seasoning and let it cook for about a minute.  Then add some vegetable broth, bring to a boil then let simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are tender.  Voila! Lentil tacos.

Everyone knows lentils are super good for you.  But why?  It has 16 grams of fiber per cup.  The University of Colorado said that because it's high starch content one can cook 23% more fat over one day.  They are pretty packed with protein - 18 grams - and iron - 7mg.  (The Drop 10 Diet)  

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not studying The Drop 10 Diet to lose 10 pounds, but it's a good reference to understanding what you're eating.  

Lentil Tacos are pretty delish.  I highly recommend.  And I'll post a pic when I can make it pretty.  In the meantime, enjoy some pretty sheep!    

Friday

I think, if people don't mind, I'm going to skip the TGIF post this week.  

This week has just been nuts.  Actually the past 2 weeks since coming back from Madison has been nuts.  I cannot stop thinking about work.  It's not negative, I'm not worried about if I'm doing anything right.  But there is just so much happening and I can't seem to focus on just one thing for a little bit.  Planning an increase in meat production, a purchase of a new farm, planning the infrastructure of an another farm, understanding the reorganization of Thanksgiving Farm, planning a dairy, winter projects, managing 4 people, breeding cows, breeding sheep, breeding pigs, raising chicks.  My brain might explode.  And I just can't stop thinking about any of it!  Just now I had to stop myself from researching nutrient components of milk in different breeds of cow.  I get home from work at 6:30 or 7:00, shower, then jump back into work.  It's weird having to force myself to stop.

So, there's a lot going on in my little farmer life.  And I feel great.  I feel confident.  I'm learning so much.  I was just thinking tonight how this week I just experienced experience.  That one day when I'm and old farmer, I can tell the young, spry farmer my experience of breeding a cow, or treating chicks for an unknown illness (and how it worked!)  Another weird thing - for the first time since being here I could see myself being here for a long time.  I had the 5 year plan in my head.  But today I see myself here for a longer time - 10, 15, 20 years.  I thought that maybe I'd go back to my old farm in a different position and when I was ready.  Who knows, I could.  And it's scary to think about the future in those years.  But it feels good.  

 PS: They have started the work on my new house!!  YAY!!!
   

Baby!

Geesh, things are not slowing down!  I apologize for not updating this (gee, not writing eveyday)!!

Well, Thanksgiving day we had a surprise - our jersey Gertrude had a calf!  I think I may have mentioned this last week.  Here are some cute pictures I made Lakes take of me.

 Aaawww, doesn't it look so natural for me?  I love dairy cows.  And that calf is super cute.  I'm trying to find him a brother - momma has way too much milk.











It's been pretty chilly this week, and we have had our first snow fall of the season.  It's been beautiful, and I'm surprised how I have felt a little giddy over it all.  There's nothing like the first snow.  Then comes the time where it never seems to go away.  Then I get grumpy about it. 

The Future Pasture

Whoa, things are busy.  I'm a little surprised.  It's a good kind of busy though.  I don't feel stretched and I'm not freaking out.  Yay!

Last Thursday, Thanksgiving, Lakes and I frost seeded on of pasture of 17 acres.  Frost seeding is a nice way to seed without totally tearing up the earth and reduces labor.  You spread the seed during the time of year when it freezes at night and is warm during the day.  That freezing and thawing of the ground will help push the seeds down into the earth.  We also have our breeding ewes pasturing on that piece, so their little hooves will help push it down into the ground too.  There is a risk of frost seeding now versus the spring is that the seeds could bud and die if we get a warm weather spell then freezing cold weather.  But people do it so we are testing it out and we'll see what happens in the spring!

 Red Clover seed!

 Me mixing the inoculant to add to the seed.  It helps protect the seed from bacteria etc...  You shouldn't breath it in, hence the mask.

 Adding the inoculant to the seed!

 Lakes mixing up the seeds.  All the seeds need to be coated with the inoculant.

 Spreading with broadcaster!

They were hard to find, but here's one little red clover seed.  Stay safe little seed!  See you next spring (hopefully)!

TGIF

Oh my.  So much has happened over the past week.  And I haven't even been able to debrief about the Biodynamics Conference!  

How Am I Trusting?

The little things in life.  Today I got home from work at noon and just starting picking up my house.  I changed my room around, ran errands in town, found a yarn store!  (That's a bad thing).  The weather was beautiful and I got to enjoy it with a 3 mile run.  What I always feel during those little things I can always trust. 


 How Am Grateful?

I am grateful for everyone in NY who has helped me make this my home.  Yesterday we all got together and had a Farmers' Thanksgiving.  It was great to be all together.  And I made sweet potato biscuits and eggnog.  Though the eggnog didn't come out to great - a little too thick.  But the biscuits came out awesome.  

Then, we went over to Chatty's house for a 2nd dinner.  That (surprisingly) was really, really enjoyable.  Mrs. Chatty is a wonderful, funny woman and she put on an amazing meal.  It was so nice and relaxing.  I had fun.
 

How Am I Inspired?

Cows!  Last night, Gertrude the Jersey (our only cow) had a calf.  SURPRISE!  Of course  it was never written down, and I am pretty ashamed that I never even noticed that she was bagging up.  Please, don't hold it think less of me.  

I decided that I either 1) had an answered wish of wanting a dairy cow or 2) that someone heard me tell my boss yesterday, "I get to sleep in tomorrow!"  After some running around this morning, trying to get equipment together and scare of having to milk a Jersey out by hand, I was able to milk a cow for the first time since June 29th, where I finally pulled off my "Dress Up Milking" (heals, dress, and all).  It brought a smile to my face.  I want to run a dairy farm.  

 How Am I Practicing My Faith?

I'll be honest - I haven't been good about meditating or working out since I was gone to Madison.  I think this week I've been putting my faith into work.  Trying to organize for the winter and plan for the future.  Putting my energy into work (which is something I can change and work at) allows me to have faith in other areas in my life - like relationships ::eyes rolling::   

Ingenuity At It's Best!!

I know it's been a little bit!  But I'm back in NY feeling really refreshed and ready to go!  Woo!

Chatty has been a great person at the farm.  Yes, he has pretty limited experience with animals (hence his tendency to get really loud around the cows so they kick him or not knowing how to move sheep so they run down the street), he is pretty handy.  While I was gone to Madison, he made the coolest thing ever:

It's a rack to hold our moveable fencing!

I know, it doesn't seem like it's that big of a deal.  But 1) it's organizing the 30 rolls that are 50 feet long each into something more manageable and 2) you can move the whole rack!  So in the summer time we can put them near gates where we'll set up the fence for the sheep or chickens, and just grab and go.  And also put back and go.  It's perfect!

I love simple, yet so handy ideas.  They make me oh so happy.
 

Madison

I'm in the Cheese Capital of the World, Wisconsin.  I'm here for the 2012 Biodynamic Conference.  It's definitely interesting, and when I get a little more time to write about it, I will.  But tonight I just feel really excited.  This has been such a great escape, such a needed break.  And I feel very excited and motivated about my job again.  Not that I really lost that motivation, but I sure was pretty tired.  It feels good to be around all these people who are so excited about what they are doing and what direction they want to go in, what direction they want the world to go in.  It's wonderful.

I'm also so excited to start working on plans for a dairy farm.  That is going to be one of my winter projects, along with organizing the rest of the farm.  Winter is going to be a very pleasant (and probably shorter than I'd like) time of year.

More to come!!

Breath

I did that a lot today - just breathed.  I'm pretty exhausted.  But I did have a nice conversation with my boss, and hopefully after I get back from Wisconsin I'll have a two day weekend - like a normal person!  Woo woo!

But enjoy these beautiful pictures - moments like these get me out of my head.

The sunrise was beautiful in Lookout Pasture.

 Could the lighting be any more perfect?

 I love this heifer so much.  I think I might name her Lorelei.  Thoughts?

Trial Run

Friday we started the trial run of our new pig housing.  I found the idea online, and hopefully it'll help us watch each individual pig, easier loading because the pigs are in a confined space, which also allows the pigs to get use to us humans.  And hopefully next year I'll work something out with my boss where the pigs can root around in plots after they harvest sweet potatoes (for example).  And then they'll fertilize!  We just have to move it every few days around the field.  Obviously in the winter it'll freeze to the ground, but we'll have it facing south down a little slope to help with drainage.  

See the pics!

 The front part is bolted on, and a rope is attached to the back of the housing.  Then we'll just pull it back when it's ready to be moved.  I figure it can hold about 5 pigs at a time. 

Ma Cusine Numéro Deux

Peanut-Cranberry-Chocolate Bars

This recipe is so easy!  Dark chocolate, dried cranberries, topped with peanuts.  Just melt the chocolate, stir in the dried cranberries, spread it on a cookie sheet, top it with peanuts, and put it in the fridge for 20ish minutes.  Now you have a delicious, healthy snack.

TGIF

                                                                                   How Am I Trusting?

This week I'm trusting farming.  I suppose I should, as it is my living right now.  No matter how I'm feeling the animals still need me.  The beef cows definitely are my dairy cows, but I still feel and trust that connection I have with the cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens.

How Am I Grateful?

I'm so grateful for my family.  Tonight I talked to my big brother for the first time since I think I moved to NY.  Really, really talked to him.  Growing up my bro was my rock.  With him living in Hawaii we haven't had much time to connect, especially when he became Commander of his unit - an honor, but SO MUCH WORK.  But next week his stint as Commander will be up and he'll have more time.  But he called me tonight and I'm so happy right now.  And even better news, is that he, his wife, and my two nephews will be moving to the Main Land again.  Texas, but it's only 29 hours away!  

How Am I Inspired?

I'm inspired by cooking!  I've really dived into it, especially lately.  I enjoy reading recipes, understanding exactly what I'm eating and how it's processes through my body.  Plus I've been finding it really meditative.     

How Am I Practicing Faith?

I think the same as usual this week - that I'm exactly where I'm suppose to be, putting my energy into the moment that I'm in now, instead of thinking of the past or the future or how my life would be better if I only had "x".  I'm getting tired and a little beaten, but I also feel that something is going to give soon.

 

I've been feeling a little home sick lately.  Home sick for MA.  Home sick for VT.  I miss having a social life, I miss my friends.  I miss being in an area where things happen.  It's funny.  I left my old job because I did not feel supported to grow professionally.  Now I have a job where I don't feel supported personally.  That's a little strong, but I'm frustrated with my housing situation (aka not being able to have Bravo), and anxious for having 2 days off a week so I can create a social support system for myself (aka friends).  It's hard being young and single and trying to make yourself - I want to grow professionally, but I also want to grow socially.  Right now I feel like I can't have both...

But today was a good day at work, because I was reminded how important it is to me to be stronger in my field.  First I had to write a report about how much hay we need for the winter.  I feel like it's probably something I should have known how to do but I never had the opportunity.  With the help of Cornell Extension and the old herdsperson, I was able to figure it out.  And we need a lot of hay this winter...

The second thing today that reminded me why I came here, was a study group that started today that'll be held weekly throughout the winter.  It's on biodynamics, which I have no idea about.  Biodynamics was created by Rudolf Steiner, and said to be a "spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture, food production and nutrition." (Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association) The goal with biodynamics is to make a sustainable, balanced farm system not just on the farm itself, but the environment around the farm.  You use the diversified environment that surrounds your farm to your advantage, and you also work to help preserve it.  It was great to sit with my team and have an open discussion about it.  And I'm learning something new!  Next week I'm being sent to a conference in Madison about it.  PUMPED!

So I am grateful, and it was nice to be reminded today that I am where I'm suppose to be right now.  And I know things will come together, sooner or later.  

 

Aching

Winter is here.  It was 25 degrees this morning when I went to work.  Why do I live in the Northeast again?  Every year seems harder and harder.  But I am slowly moving south - VT to MA to NY.  Maybe I'll just make a leap and head to the Carolinas.  

Today I spent about 3 hours bent over shearing sheep hooves.  I'm pretty sore, but most of it probably has to do with P90X...  

We picked out 70 ewes for our new breeding stock.  Woo woo!  Now, don't ask me what kind of sheep we have.  There are so many types in our herd - Romneys, Suffolks, Texels, Tunis.  I'm sure there are others but I wouldn't know them.  This is my first time really working with sheep, and I am starting to really enjoy them.  Learning a new animal has been very exciting.  

When we picked the 70 sheep, we looked at weight - are they over or underweight?  How is their top line - does her back bow in one way or another?  Does she stand square?  How are her hips? Is she short or tall? What do her feet look like?  When I came to Thanksgiving Farm (that is they name of the farm I work on, I don't think I have said it yet), there was absolutely no information on the sheep.  So since we don't have any records, specifically lambing records, we are starting from stratch.  Which is always a good thing I believe!  It's exciting!  With the help of Lakes, we are creating a whole new herd.  We will have a lot of first time ewes in this group, so I am a little nervous.  Starting in April it's going to be a few weeks of long nights...

I'm really excited about the sheep operation, and making it a more sustainable, efficient system.  I bought a marker to put on our Dorper Ram (who we have yet to name, so suggestions welcome) so we will know who he bred when resulting in the knowledge of when the ewe will be due (their gestation is about 5 months).  He's very excited to work.  Hopefully him being around the ladies for 3 hours today have gotten the ladies ovulating.  The sight and smell of the ram will increase the number of eggs the ewe ovulates.  We are also going to build jugs, which are basically pens for the ewe to lamb in.  That way we know which baby belongs to which momma, and be able to closely observe for any difficulties the mom might have.  Which is always possible because they have 2 or 3 lambs at a time.  

Well, I'm off to panic over this election.  I hope you voted today!  

Ma Cuisine Venture Numéro Un

I do not cook.  At all.  Well, I cook to survive.  But for some reason I've never really been into it.  It just seems like so much work most of the time.  And the dishes!  I can't handle one bowl in the sink, let alone a pile of them after making a meal.  Since I moved though, I've slowly been dabling in the art of cuisine that I make myself.

Tonight, thanks to The Monster Librarian I found this yummy recipe from another blog, which is now one of my favorite things to read ever.  a farmer in the dell has all these amazing recipes that sound so delicious and EASY.  I need easy.

Tonight's recipe: Chiplote Quinoa Sweet Potato Patties

Well, I didn't have chiplote so I used chilli powder, and I also didn't have quinoa so I used some left over brown rice.  It also has black beans which I could eat everyday of my life and be happy.  I told my mom what I was making for dinner and she thinks I'm nuts.  

Some facts about sweet potatoes:
- They are packed with fiber
- They can add to your daily need of vitamin C
- It's good for your skin!
- And since Breast Cancer Awareness Month just ended, studies show that women who ate food rich in beta-carotene decreased their chances of breast cancer.  

Here's the result!

I know, it doesn't look too pretty, they fell apart a little while cooking - more bread crumbs!  The green is a tomatillo salsa that we made on Friday night.  It's good on the patties!

If you want the recipe, check out the a farmer in the dell, the recipe was posted on November 2nd.  
 

TGIF

It's been a pretty long week, so I'm excited to be sitting on the couch right now lounging.

How Am I Trusting?

I just want my cat!  But I can only have my cat when I move into my new house.  I'm starting to really loose my patience.  I had a conversation with my boss about it yesterday.  I've said all that I can right now, and he was able to make some moves for me during our conversation, such as flag down the CEO and ask him what the F$*% (that's my word, not his) is going on.  It's just disappointing because I was told I could have my Bravo after a month and next week will start my 5th month here.  So, I'm trusting my boss, and more of myself, that I will have my cat sooner rather than later.

What Am I Grateful For?

This week I am grateful for friendships, old and new.  A good friend of mine came down Friday night.  It was so nice to see him.  We talked about our journey that we are on now that we both left the old farm in MA.  We came together and left together!  I'm also grateful for my new friendship with Deere.  I haven't really met very many people here yet, and connecting with Deere has been a blessing here.  

How Am I Inspired?

I'm inspired by exercise!  Ever since I stopped playing rugby this fall, I haven't really been able to really work out.  I go to the gym but feel like I'm just wasting my time messing around with weights and running on the treadmill.  Then I decided to buy P90X.  I LOVE IT.  It's only day 3 right now, but I'm so happy.  It feels good really workout again and have a plan.  I've also been really focusing on what I eat.  I'm inspired by how good I feel. 

How Am I Practicing My Faith?

I'm practicing my faith by really focusing on the present, where I am at this very moment.  I was sad last night about my cat, and all these senarios kept playing in my head about the future - that I couldn't have my cat, that I would never get a two day weekend, that I'd come home every night to a cold, empty apartment.  There is no point worrying so much about the future!  Yes, those are fears that I have but they have not come true yet.  And more than likely will not.  Putting my energy in the present moment allows me to have faith in the future.

 


 

 
 

The Case of The Missing Pigs - Part 2

The story ends at Part 2.  The pigs have been found!  They were found yesterday, and I apologize for not quickly updating the blog.  But after 2 days of probably 5 hours of sleep, I was down for the count last night.

The Boss called me at 6AM, saying he had a voicemail about the pigs.  I updated him on the situation, and we decided at 7:30 when the sun came up we'd start a search party.  Who knew where these pigs had gone!?  I also made a call into the local police department.  Talk about an awkward message, though I'm sure one they had heard before.  So before the sun came up Lakes, Peru, and I packed up 90 chickens that we had to take to be turned into soup.  I told Peru what had happened and he was in shock.  He started walking to go look for them and then I hear a whistle.  "They are here!"  I ran over, and sure enough there they were.  Only 50 feet from their pen, sleeping in a hog pile on Guya, our retired sow who just hangs out and sleeps all day.  Every morning she'll make the round to see the other pigs, but they she'll go back to her little area of trees and sleep.  

Stupid pigs!  But I know they had wandered pretty far, because the person who was working on the residential shift at one of the houses (who reported the pigs were out) said they were all the way down the road almost the main street!  So at least I wasn't losing my mind.

Now all the pigs are happy and safe in their home.  The Hurricane has come and gone but with pretty devastating results.  Today I just spent a half hour at the gas station filling my tank because we may run out of gas.  And a half hour was on the shorter end of time - some people are waiting 45 minutes or more, and lines in NYC are hours long.  

Please keep everyone in your thoughts, meditations, prayers, or however you reach out to people.  

The Case of The Missing Pigs - Part 1

It's 1:40AM, and I'm up because of a phone call.  "This is Renee at security  You probably don't want to hear this, but the pigs are in the road."  What!?  It's our 4 little orphan pigs (orphan because their mom died after she gave birth to them so the farmers raised them) and the Large Black gilt that we bought a couple months ago now.  I have searched high and low for these little buggers, but to no avail.  So, I'll keep you posted on the status of...The Case of The Missing Pigs. 

Also, wandering around the fields in the dark makes me want to get a dog even more than I already want a dog.  

What's Your Hurricane Story?

Last night Hurricane Sandy hit.  And I mean hit.  August of 2011 Hurricane Irene hit, but that was a much different storm.  With Irene, there just water.  So much water.  But with Sandy (at least where I live) it was wind.  We got rain, but no flooding in my town unlike the neighboring towns.  Wind like I have never felt before.  It was frightening.

Monday started with us putting the animals undercover.  The 45 cows we have were all going to go in the coverall.  But there was not enough room for the 112 ewes.  Previously I  discussed with my boss of putting the ewes in his green houses - 4 houses with 28 sheep each.  But Monday came and so did the weather report - winds 60mph or more.  Those little green houses with the plastic covering were NOT going to hold up during this storm.  Plan B came into play.  An empty building where construction is being done.  After permission from the CEO, the 112 ewes went into a future school building.  

We put plastic all over the walls, and with help from the residents at the farm, put a ton of nice bedding down.  I wanted to stay here for the hurricane!









The sheep were a little on the confused side..."Where the heck are we!? Why are we here!?" 










It was a good thing that we changed where we were going to put the sheep.  Because at about 4 o'clock, this is what we found:

 This was one of the green houses we were going to use...And this was before the storm really hit.

We put the the cows in the coverall.  They were a little tight.  We'll have to figure out exactly how we'll do this for the winter, but it's a good thing that they won't be in there for 24 hours a day.

Then Lakes and I went home at about 6 o'clock.  We didn't get home in time to take showers though.  The power was already out.  So we hung out by candlelight, then went back when the sun set to close the chickens in for the night.  The storm was really coming in now.  The wind and the rain.  When we pulled up to the field where the chickens were Lakes and I just stopped and looked at each other - one of the chicken coops had been pushed about 60 feet from where we had left it that morning.  We ran outside and found that most of the chickens hadn't even gone into the coop.  They all took cover underneath the coops.  We moved quick, catching all these chickens and getting them inside while getting soaked.  We could barely hear each other with the wind, and at times could barely move because of the wind.  We then ran to the stone wall that was near the field and loaded the truck with the largest rocks we could carry.  We chalked the tires of each of the 4 coops, each thinking how lucky that the wheels of the coop that did roll away turned so it didn't crash into the road.  After feeling like we did all we could for the layers, we checked the other animals.  The chicks were ok but I wasn't sure if their polyhouse was going to make it through the night.  The cows were good, and the ewes were perfect.  So we went home.  I had a pretty restless night, unable to sleep because of the wind and imagining that the roof was going to blow off the chicks' housing, the chicken coops were going to flip over, and all the bacon I'm holding in my freezer was going to spoil because the power was out. (It's a lot of bacon!)

I got up and went into work with my flashlight, desperate so see how my animals were.  On my way in I saw this:

You know how many times I went up and down this road during the storm!?  These trees have GOT to come down!  They are all dead anyway.

The pigs survived, I wasn't worried about them.  The chicks were safe!  Their house stayed together.  And the layers were just fine.  Here's picture of where the house was and where it ended up:

 The spot towards the right of the picture, where there is hay on the ground, was where the coop was.  The spot where the yellow coop is in the picture, is where the coop ended up.  And these are not just your backyard chicken coops!  They are heavy.

In the end, the animals were all safe and happy, the sheep having the best deal for the night.  It rained throughout the day today but the wind died down.  I am so grateful that we were so lucky, and thinking so much of the neighboring towns and states that were hit much harder.  It was an adventure all right.  There was one point last night I looked at Lakes and said, "Is this really happening right now?"  It didn't feel real, and I'm happy that the weight in my stomach I had all last night is gone.  

And the sheep were so happy to get our of the weird smelling building and on to fresh grass too.